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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: suit · march · chest · face · rush · fork · ground · kick

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. ground — the earth
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. face — to point toward
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. ground — a position
  7. march — the month
  8. suit — in cards
  9. rush — hurry
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. march — the month
  12. face — part of the head
  13. march — music
  14. chest — of your body
  15. suit — to fit
  16. ground — crushed
  17. suit — clothes
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. fork — in a road
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. chest — of your body
  23. face — to confront
  24. chest — a box

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com